The Transfer window is nearly closed as teams and players settle in to what their club’s will look like for at least the next several months. A US player or two could still be on the move this Fall (we’re keeping our eye on you Yunus Musah) but we’re pretty close to locked in. We’re also locked in on some great matches this weekend that could see more debut’s as well as some head to head action in France. It start’s on Friday with a couple of matches:
Friday
Hamburg v St Pauli – 2:30p on ESPN+: James Sands and St. Pauli came from behind last weekend to draw with Borussia Dortmund 3-3, scoring twice in the final five minutes of the match. Sands played 87’ minutes for St Pauli in the midfield and looks to have fully recovered from his injury. St. Pauli will look for their first win of the season on Friday against newly promoted Hamburg who played Borussia Monchengladbach to a scoreless draw last weekend.
Lecce v Milan – 2:45p on Paramount+: AC Milan opened their season with a home loss to newly promoted Cremonese with Christian Pulisic starting the match and playing the full 90’ but Yunus Musah not making it off the bench amid ongoing rumors that he is being pursued by Napoli and Atalanta. Milan dominated possession and allowed just four shot attempts by Cremonese but were unable to convert more than one of their own twenty-four shot attempts. Milan will look to bounce back against Lecce who settled for a scoreless draw with Genoa last weekend.
Saturday
Chelsea v Fulham – 7:30a on USA Network: Antonne Robinson returned from injury and played 28’ minutes off the bench last weekend as Fulham drew with Manchester United 1-1. That makes a pair of 1-1 draws to open the season for Fulham who will now face a Chelsea side who are coming off a 5-1 thumping of West Ham last weekend after opening their season with a scoreless draw against Crystal Palace.
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen – 9:30a on ESPN+: Malik Tillman missed Bayer Leverkusen’s season opening loss to Hoffenheim last weekend but is reportedly available this weekend heading into their match with Werder Bremen who fell 4-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt. Tillman will be making his debut for his new club as they look to bounce back and get on track to challenge Bayern Munich for the league title.
Stuttgart v Borussia Monchengladbach – 9:30a on ESPN+: Gio Reyna has joined good friend Joe Scally at Borussia Monchengladbach and will look to get his career back on track. Reyna, Scally and Gladbach will face Stuttgart this weekend looking for Gladbach’s first win of the season, following a 0-0 draw last weekend with Hamburg.
Tottenham v AFC Bournemouth – 10a on Peacock: Tyler Adams and Bournemouth defeated Wolverhampton last weekend, bouncing back from a season opening loss to Liverpool, but then fell to Brentford 2-0 in Carabao Cup second round action midweek with Tyler getting the match off. This weekend Bournemouth will take on a Tottenham side that have won their first two matches to start the season, including a 2-0 win over Manchester City last weekend.
Blackburn Rovers v Norwich City – 10a on Paramount+: Josh Sargent has opened the season by scoring a goal in each of Norwich’s four matches that he has appeared in (he missed Norwich’s EFL Cup match against Southampton midweek) but Norwich have won just one of their three league matches, with all ending with an identical 2-1 score line. This weekend Norwich will face a Blackburn Rovers side that just missed out on the promotion playoffs last season but have also won just one of their opening three matches this year as well.
Deportivo Alaves v Atletico Madrid – 11a on ESPN Deportes and ESPN+: Johnny Cardoso might not be in the US squad but he’s made the starting 11 for Atletico Madrid the first two matches of their season. Atletico will be looking for their first win of the season this weekend as they take on Deportivo Alaves, who fell to Real Betis 1-0 last weekend.
Leeds United v Newcastle United – 12:30p on NBC and Peacock: Brenden Aaronson has come off the bench to play roughly 25’ in each of Leeds United’s first two matches of the season. Leeds won their opener but were thumped by Arsenal last weekend 5-0 with the team already down 4-0 when Aaronson came into the match.
Augsburg v Bayern Munich – 12:30p on ESPN+: Noakhai Banks has pulled the reverse Johnny Cardoso, the 18-year-old center back has made Mauricio Pochettino’s September callup list though he has not made it off the bench for Augsburg yet this season. Unfortunately, that might say as much about the differences in depth at the midfield and center back positions for the USMNT as it does about Pochettino’s puzzling decisions. Augsburg defeated Freiburg 3-1 in their opener last weekend and will now face Bayern Munich who opened their Bundesliga campaign with 6-0 drubbing of RB Leipzig.
PSV v Telstar – 2p on ESPN+: Ricardo Pepi saw his first minutes of the Eredivisie season last Saturday, coming off the bench for the final minutes of PSV’s 4-2 win over Groningen. Sergino Dest started the match at left back, played the full 90’, and picked up his second assist of the season. Dest has had a goal contribution in each of PSV’s first three matches. PSV will face a Telstar side that are looking for their first win of the season, they snapped a two match losing streak last weekend in drawing 2-2 with FC Volendam.
Toulouse v PSG – 3:05p on beIN Sports: Mark McKenzie and Toulouse will take on perennial league favorites PSG on Sunday. Both teams have won their first two matches of the season and are tied, along with Lyon and Strasbourg, at the top of the table early in the season. McKenzie has started and gone the full 90’ in each of Toulouse’s two matches.
Sunday
Rangers v Celtic – 7a on CBSSN and Paramount+: Rangers and Celtic were both dumped from Champions League qualifying midweek in embarrassing fashion and will now look to bounce back in the latest edition of the Old Firm derby. Cameron Carter-Vickers started and played the full match plus extra time midweek as Celtic eventually fell to Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty in penalties after playing a home and away series, including a full 120’ in the second match, without either team scoring a goal. Celtic have won each of their first three matches though CCV was rested last weekend. Auston Trusty had come off the bench in Celtic’s first three matches of the season but was not included in the squad last weekend or midweek. Celtic’s opponent this weekend is their arch-rival Rangers who have drawn each of their first three league matches and also fell midweek in Champions League qualifying 6-0 (and 9-1 on aggregate) to Club Brugge.
Monaco v Strasbourg – 11:15a on beIN Sports: Folarin Balogun returned from injury last weekend to get the start and go the full 90’ in Monaco’s 1-0 loss to Lille. Balogun and Monaco will now face Strasbourg who have won their first to Ligue 1 matches of the season.
Genoa v Juventus – 12:30p on CBSSN and Paramount+: Weston McKennie was used as a time wasting substitute last weekend as Juventus saw out a 2-0 win over Parma to open their Serie A season. McKennie appears to once again be at an interesting point in his career as the midfielder was left out of the September window and is looking to work his way back into the squad with his club as well. It’s a bit startling but it is not the first, or second, time that McKennie has found himself in a similar position and he has bounced back well each time prior.
Aston Villa v Crystal Palace – 2p on USA Network: Chris Richards and Crystal Palace have opened their Premier League season with a pair of draws against Chelsea and Nottingham Forest with Richards playing the full 90’ in both matches. Richards also went 90 on Thursday as Palace played Norwegian side Fredrikstad FK to a scoreless draw in see out their 1-0 aggregate win in UEFA Conference League qualifiers. Palace have allowed just four goals across five matches in all competitions to start the season, including two in their win over Liverpool in the Community Shield match, and Richards is a key figure in what appears to be a solid defense. Palace will face an Aston Villa side this weekend that are looking for their first win, and first goal of the season.
Olympique Lyon v Olympique Marseille – 2:45p on beIN Sports: Tanner Tessmann and Tim Weah will face off in Ligue 1 action on Sunday afternoon before Weah heads to the States for the September window while Tessmann remains in France as he missed out on a callup. Tessmann has started and gone the full 90’ in Lyon’s first two matches while Weah came off the bench in Marseille’s first match, a 1-0 loss to Stade Rennais, but started on the left-wing in the teams 5-2 drubbing of Paris FC last weekend.